(1-3) Though the words of the great Sannyasin, expounding the words of the Veda in such a clear and cogent way, put an end to Mandana’s desire for controversy, he still had one doubt uncleared owing to his fanatical devotion to the path of Vedic rituals. He said: “O great Sannyasin! Defeat in debate is something new for me. Still it does not depress me. But alas! That the teachings of Jaimini have been refuted, is a matter of great concern for me. Jaimini is one who knew all about the past, present and future. He knows the true purport of the Veda. He also stands for the good of all the worlds. How could he, the greatest among ascetics, then formulate a false body of teachings in his Sutras ?”

(4-15) To Mandana who expressed his doubt thus, Sankara said: “The sage has not committed any mistake. The trouble lies in this, that we of little understanding are not able to grasp his ideas correctly”. Mandana thereupon requested: “I would like you to expound the meaning of Jaimini’s work, which you say even scholars have failed to grasp. If it is convincing, I shall accept it without the least sense of pride of learning or position.” Sankara said: “Though himself a person of supreme knowledge, the sage was aware of the fact that the vast majority of people, swimming in the ocean of Samsara. are not capable of striving for that knowledge immediately. So they have to be gradually prepared for it, and for this, as a means of preparatory discipline, he has formulated his teachings in his Sutras. His Sutras are therefore quite meaningful. The Vedas have laid down: ‘Following the Vedas, Brahmanas seek Him through Yajna, charity and austerity’. So, in the pursuit of Moksha, Vedic injunctions connected with these have a place. Jaimini has only formulated them in a systematic way. His ultimate goal is Moksha”. Mandana then questioned: “True, Vedic passages are those which teach various actions that will lead to generation of certain fruits. Passages that do not do so ate of no significance. Jaimini, who made a Sutra to this effect how could he’ be understood to be devoted to an already existing entity like Brahman, which is not the fruit of any action?” Sankara answered: “The Veda is no doubt non-dualistic in its purport. But the attainment of Atman-consciousness can be looked upon as the fruit of certain courses of discipline laid down in the Vedas. In order that men may become devoted to those disciplines, the sage formulated his doctrines supporting, actions, so ,that men may become purified through these and may become fit to understand the teachings on Non-duality”. Mandana thereupon argued: “If Jaimini had accepted the Veda as concerned with the description of the already existing Brahman, then how could he accept that Karma in itself could give fruits, and that acceptance of an Iswara or God is superfluous?” Sankara replied: “The followers of Kanada say that, by reasoning, we see that an effect must have had a cause. Through this reasoning we can infer that, the world being of the nature of an effect, it must have had a cause. That cause is God. To arrive at God, this kind of reasoning is sufficient. No Vedic authority is needed. The Vedic sentences on this subject are merely confirmation of what is obtained by reason. Such is the view of Kanada and several others. But the Vedas, on the other hand, declare that Brahman is known through the Upanishads only. How can then the view of Kanada that even without the Veda, through reasoning alone, God is known be accepted? Jaimini refuted, by his arguments, a God of this type, obtained through reason alone, as the cause of creation and its destruction. His refutation of such a God is in no way different from our way of thinking. Without understanding this, even scholars have stated that Jaimini is a Nastika (atheist), although, in fact, he is one of the greatest of the knowing ones. But such misunderstanding does not affect his greatness in any way. It is as inconsequential as the owl’s misunderstanding of day as night and night as day”.

(16–23) This exposition of the true import of Jaimini’s teaching by Sankara received thankful approbation from Mandana, his wife and the assembled scholars. Still Mandana, in order to have his doubt cleared completely,thought of the sage Jaimini in his heart. That very moment Jaimini appeared in the sight of them all, and said as follows: “Good-hearted Mandana! You need not have the least doubt about the authenticity of the commentary that Sankara has produced. What this great Sannyasin said here just now, that indeed is the underlying purport of my Sutras. He has an insight into my true ideas; and so also he had an insight into the meaning of the Vedas and all Sastras. Who else but he deserves to be called a knower of the past, present and future? My teacher was Vyasa; from him I learnt the “Vedas, which have got the revelation of Sat-chid-ananda as its purport. How can I, who gathered wisdom at the feet of that Vyasa, compose even a single Sutra that goes against his ideas? So abandon all your doubts, and know this secret: This Sannyasin Sankam is verily Siva embodied as man in order to help ignorant humanity to overcome the bondage of Samsara. First, Kapila gave the spiritual gospel to mankind. In Tretayuga, Dattatreya did the same thing. Next, Vyasa revealed the supreme knowledge. In this age of Kali, it is Sankara that has come to give the saving knowledge to humanity. The Saiva Puranas speak of his glory in such terms. Accepting his doctrines, get across the ocean of Samsara”. Enlightening the assembled people in this way, and after embracing Sankara mentally, the great sage disappeared. And Mandana, the greatest among the adherents of the sacrificial cult, now prostrated himself before Sankara, and said as follows:

Mandana in Praise of Sankara

(24-43) I have come to understand that though Thou art of the nature of Pure Consciousness, yet for the sake of ignorant men, Thou hast assumed this human body, just as Thou, the First Cause, abandonest the state of equipoise when it becomes necessary to do so at the start of the creative cycle. On the head of the Upanishads shines as its crest jewel the word Eka (one without a second). See for example such passages as (1) atma va idam ekam agra asit (2) brahma va idam agra asit ekam eva (3) sadeva soumya idam agra aslt (4) ekam eva advitiyam brahma, and so on. Thou didst protect this crest jewel, the doctrine of the unity of all existence, with ‘Tat tvam asi’ for Thy weapon. Had it not been for Thy efforts, this precious crest jewel, the very word ‘eka’, would have been shattered to pieces, falling into the deep pit dug by the preachings of the Tathagata (Buddha). A sleeping man sometimes thinks that he is awake, but actually he continues to sleep and see other dreams. Those teachers who claim they are illumined, but continue to maintain that Moksha consists in residence in some other world after death – they are indulging in the same kind of absurdity as such sleeping men. So, O Great Teacher, the doctrines of these teachers are ridiculed by Thy disciples who had overcome the sleep of Maya. Even in the so called liberated state of those who support the ultimacy of duality, great sorrow can again occur as in Samsara. But in the liberation Thou preachest, which is without any trace of duality, there is no possibility of any subsequent misery. It is eternal, beyond the world of change, and of the nature of pure Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. Hanumat merely discovered Sita, the consort of Rama, who was none but Parabrahman, in the midst of the Rakshasa women of Lanka; for this he has become so famous. But Thou hast brought out that Brahman Himself, cutting open the abdomen of the Rakshasa woman of Avidya who had swallowed Him. How much more does Thy glory then deserve to be praised! O Merciful one! O Remover of the world’s woes! It was without knowing Thy greatness that I spoke all sorts of things to Thee sometime back. Deign to pardon me for it. In determining the meaning of the Vedas, even great sages like Kapila and Kanada laboured under mistaken notions. Except Thou, who art an aspect of Siva, none could know their true meaning. When the nectarine light of wisdom emitted by Thy moon-like face is illumining the understanding of men, the dense darkness of Kapila’s, Kanada’s and Jaimini’s teachings can by no means overcast the minds of men with gloom and impurity that are the natural products of such teachings. When all the country is’ occupied by the new Yavanas (kings ‘following non-Vedic religion), who delight in breaking the divine image and in slaughtering the bounteous sow of the Vedas, where is the talk of Mukti for those who live as their subjects under the most humiliating conditions? But now, there are springing up here and there men who, following Thy teachings, live untouched by the evils of Kali and devoted to the Supreme Being. Hence my fears are perhaps misplaced. To the Vedas. which had fallen into a fainting fit due to the poison inflicted on them by spurious interpreters, Thou hast given a new lease of life by the shower of nectar that Thy powerful writings have proved to be. Thou hast restored to them their dignified status and enhanced their worth in the eyes of men. O Great One! But for the cooling moonlight of Thy teachings, mankind would have had but little relief from the burning heat of Samsara. Hurled by Vedic ritualism into the pit of Samsara. I got lost .in ritualistic observances and love of home. wife and children: but I have now found in you a savior who has graciously lifted me up from that pit. It must be as a result of great austerities practiced by me in lives past, that I have got this good fortune of association with Thee, who art none but the Supreme Being – His grace incarnated as man. Only in men with a background of great meritorious deeds will the tree of spiritual life take real roots. Control of mind is the sprouting leaf-bud of that tree: control of senses, its tender foliage; contentment, its blossoms: forbearance. its nectar. and faith, its fruit. Thy teachings, which inculcate all these excellence of spiritual life, become available only to men who have great merits to their credit. Fortunate indeed arc those who could dip in the waves of mercy surging on the river of Thy gracious looks. It is what gives liberation to men in bondage, as also the fulfillment of their aspirations even to the Devas. Let those who find delight in the embrace of women. waste their time in love sports of their choice, while hypocritically pretending to be men of nobility and learning. It is only those whose boat of life gets wafted on the waves of the unique’ ocean of Thy teachings that deserve the name of scholars or great men. Thy teachings are like a necklace of splendorous pearls, strung on the golden thread of sound reasoning and scattering the darkness of ignorance by their brilliance. Really wise men delight in wearing this rare necklace. The damsel of Vidya prefers to be the hand-maid of such men than of the Devas. May true scholars be delighted by the study of Thy works and attain reputation thereby! May the pseudo-scholars, blinded by the brilliance of Thy thoughts, withdraw into obscurity like owls in daylight! And may those who dive deep into Thy teachings and practice them in life, become illumined and get steeped in the ocean of undivided Bliss-Consciousness! 0 Great Acharya Sankara! Service of Thee is the heavenly garden of Nandana; thoughts on Thee and Thy teachings, the wish-yielding Kalpaka tree of heaven: meditation on Thee, the flowering branches of that tree; and hymns in praise of Thee, the heavenly Ganga. Those who resort to Thee thus find in Thee a veritable heaven, and care a straw for the heavenly abode of Indra. Therefore, here am I resolved to abandon everything precious in life-disciples, home, wife, wealth and the rest-and to take refuge at Thy feet. I am Thy servant, awaiting Thy orders”.

Ubhaya-Bbarati’s Challenge

(44-57) As Mandana finished his hymn of praise, Bhagavan Sankara looked at Ubhaya-bharati, the wife of Mandana. That intelligent lady, having come to understand the mind of Sankara, now said as follows: “O Great Sannyasin! I have understood what you have in mind. In fact, from my very early life I had come to know about my future from the predictions of an ascetic. Now, may you and others in this assembly be pleased to hear it. While I was at home with my mother, an ascetic of imposing personality, wearing matted locks as black as clouds, having sacred ashes smeared all over his body, and holding an ascetic’s Yogadanda in his hand, visited our house. My mother received him with all honour due to an august personage. After offering a seat, she requested him, with due respect and humility, to enlighten her on my future. She said: ‘I am concerned very much to know something about the future of my daughter. A great ascetic like you can know. everything about the past and the future. Out of mercy for their devotees, personages like you are always pleased to reveal to them what is hidden’ behind the curtain of the future. How long will my daughter live? What sort of a man will she wed? How many children would she have? Will she live a happy life, having plenty of wealth and performing many holy sacrifices?’. The sage, after closing his eyes in meditation for a minute, began to disclose many secrets about the past and the future. He said, ‘When the path laid down by the Vedas is about to be obliterated by the criticisms of hostile thinkers, Brahma will be born on earth as the scholar Mandana for the resuscitation of the Vedic way of life. Just as Lakshmi became the consort of Vishnu, this daughter of yours will become the consort of Mandana, and will happily live long in the world, blessed with wealth, children and opportunities of performing many Yagas (sacrifices). Then, in order to resuscitate the doctrines of the Vedanta, which constitutes as it were the head of the Vedas, and which will be almost obliterated by the criticisms of powerful hostile thinkers, God Siva Himself will grace this earth in a human form. Now your daughter’s husband will have to meet in debate this Siva-incarnation in the form of a Sannyasin. Defeated in the debate, your daughter’s husband will have to renounce the household life and follow his Master as a Sannyasin’. All that the sage predicted has come literally true. How can my husband, therefore, fail to become your disciple, O Great One! But please remember, you have not gained complete success over my renowned husband, as I am his better half. Before you make him your disciple, you have to defeat me also in debate. Though you are the master of all learning and are an embodiment of divinity, I have none the less a desire to debate with you.”

(58-72) Hearing these wise and deeply significant words of that learned lady, the wife of the leader of the sacrificial cult in those times, Sankara, the great Sannyasin, said, “You say that you want to enter into a wordy controversy with me. But then, you are a woman. It is not proper to fight with women, be it with words only”. To this Ubhaya-bharati replied, “What difference does it make whether a controversialist, who challenges you and attacks your doctrines, is a man or a woman? The duty of a controversialist is to defeat his opponent whoever it might be. Look at the ancient examples of Yajnavalkya debating with Gargi and of Janaka with Sulabha. The reputation of those sages was in no way affected adversely by entering into controversy with women”. Hearing her very persuasive words, Sankara, the learned Vedic scholar, was very much pleased, and decided upon entering into a debate with that wise woman. A very closely argued debate between them followed, filling the minds of all assembled scholars with wonder at the tremendous flow of learning coming from both the contestants. In point of sound reasoning and beauty of expression, the performance of both of them excelled the skill and the learning of even Adisesha, Brihaspati and other great sages. For seventeen days this protracted debate continued day and night, the only break being for the performance of each one’s daily duties. Ubhaya-bharati found that the Sannyasin was invincible in Vedic lore, philosophies and other Sastras. Then a new idea struck her. She thought: ‘This great Sannyasin took to ascetic life from his very boyhood, and has been observing the vow of continence throughout life. Surely, he had no occasion to live with women and master the science of love between the sexes. I shall now take advantage of his ignorance in this respect and try to gain victory over him’. Resolving thus in mind, she challenged the Sannyasin this wise: “Discuss with me the science and the art of love between the sexes (Kusumastra-sastram). Enumerate its forms and expressions. What is its nature and what are its centres? How does it vary in the sexes during the bright and dark fortnights? What are its manifestations in man and woman?” At this, Sankara sat silent for a while, revolving the various issues in his mind. He was on the horns of a dilemma; if he did not take up the challenge, his claim to be the master of all learning would be compromised. If he directly entered into a discussion on the subject, it would go against the Dharma of a Sannyasin, as he is not expected to concern himself with the love of the sexes. Though he had some theoretical knowledge of this topic also, he professed ignorance in order to observe the Sannyasin’s code of conduct, and said: “Give me a month’s time. It is a practice among controversialists to ask for notice. After an interval of a month, I shall meet you again, and then you will give up your pride of proficiency in the science of sex love, too”.¹

The Propriety of acquiring Knowledge of Sex-love discussed

(73-78) On her agreeing to this proposal, Sankara, along with his disciples, left the place. By his Yogic power, he and his disciples were travelling through air, when they came across the dead body of a king who in majesty looked like another Indra. the king of the Devas. His body was surrounded by ladies in tears and by ministers and officers with faces sorrow-stricken and downcast. The king had gone on hunting to the forest the previous night, and in the course of the hunt happened to fall unconscious under a tree and die on the spot. Seeing the dead body of this king, Sankara said to his disciple Padmapada (also known as Sanandana): “Here lies dead the renowned. king Amaruka, having more than a hundred wives of exquisite beauty. I am thinking why I should not enter into the body of this king and revive it by Yogic power, and thus live in his palace amidst these women through his body in order to gain knowledge of sex-love and achieve the status of an all knowing person. I shall thus have an opportunity to make a direct study, as .a witness, of the manifestation of love in women and their behaviour under its influence.”

¹ The character of Ubhaya-bharati, known also as Sarasavani in other Sankaravijayas, is a very intriguing one. To have challenged a mighty personage like Sankara for debate, to have held him at bay for several days, to have discovered the only vulnerable point in him to be his ignorance of Kama-sastra (the science of sex-love) because of his having become a Sannyasin from boyhood, and to have questioned him on this topic in that assembly of learned men-bespeak as highly of her learning as of her intelligence and daring. According to the historians of India’s social development, by the post-Upanishadic period, the higher education of women had come to be discouraged and gradually discarded. Evidence of this is reflected even in Sankara’s own writings. In his commentary on Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (6.17), where Sankara comments on a passage inculcating a ritual to be performed by one who wishes to have a learned (Pandila) daughter, he remarks that Pandila here cannot mean ‘learned’ in the ordinary sense of the term, because Vedic study is denied to women; it must, therefore, be interpreted as ‘skilled in household management’. The mythical technique of the authors of Sankara-vijayas overcomes the incongruity they saw in the character of Ubhaya-bharati by recognizing her as an incarnation of Saraswati, the Goddess of learning. Even without going for such a theological explanation, we can understand the situation by accepting that the views on women’s position and education recorded in Smritis, which form the authority for historians to base their conclusions, did not have uniform application for a vast country like India. In different parts of the country different conditions might have prevailed, and the Smritis reflect only local situations, or the view of individual thinkers on social matters.

(79-88) In reply to this proposal of the great Sannyasin, Padmapada gave his cautious reply as follows: “There is nothing unknown to an omniscient personage like you. Yet, I shall speak a few words out of my love for, and devotion to, you. It seems, in days of yore, a great Yogi named Matsyendra, entrusting his own body to his disciple Goraksha, entered into the body of a dead king and thereby got access into his palace. While the Yogi thus reigned as the king, prosperity attended that kingdom. Timely rain brought bounteous harvests. Observing all this, it occurred to his ministers that some great soul must have entered into the dead body of the king. So they advised his consorts to use all their amorous skill to keep the king completely absorbed in love sports, so that he might not leave the body. The king got so immersed in the emotional display of these women, their amorous advances, soft laughter, sweet songs and lovely dances-that he forgot everything about Samadhi and spiritual matters, and behaved exactly like a sensuous man. Coming to know of the change that had come over his teacher, the disciple Goraksha, after duly preserving his teacher’s body in a secure place, came disguised as a dance instructor and got access to the inner apartment as a dancing instructor for women. He attracted the king’s attention, and by instructing him about spiritual truth, he destroyed the king’s thirst for sense enjoyments. By regaining his power of Yoga, Matsyendra was able to leave the king’s body and re-enter his own. From this it is seen how strong and irresistible sense attraction is. Besides, to abandon the vow of Brahmacharya is sinful, too. All these of course are matters too well known to you. How great and how unparalleled in excellence are our holy vows, and how ignoble and wretched is sexuality? If a personage of your type goes after the latter, the whole world will get degraded by following your example. The Dharma of Sannyasins is already at a low ebb, and it has been your life-work to re-interpret and restore it to its pristine purity. All these are matters very well known to you. It is only love of you that prompts me to speak in this vein.”

(89-100) After Padmapada finished, Sankara who excelled Brihaspati himself in learning, spoke thus: “What you have said is only a partial appraisal of the situation. Now, hear the whole truth about it. In one who is absolutely non-attached, desire for sense enjoyment will not arise, This was the case with Sri Krishna when he lived with the Gopis. The continence of one who knows the Yogic practice of Vajroli will remain unbroken. Sankalpa, the brooding imaginative association, is the cause of desires. I am without that failing, even like Maha-Vishnu. One who is without any Sankalpa may live in Samsara without being affected by it; for the real root of Samsara has already been destroyed. The commandments and prohibitions of scriptures are applicable to men in ignorance who live with the deep-rooted conviction that their body is their self. In the case of one who has realized even here that the Self, which is called ‘he’, is without all contacts and is the relation-less and eternally pure spirit-of one who is established in this supreme teaching of the Vedanta-the commandments and prohibitions of Sastras have no application. There is only clay in all pots that are made of clay. Similar is the case with all objects born of Paramatman. He and the world supposed to be born of Him are not different, the world having no existence apart from Him. How can one who realizes the whole world as a mere appearance, be affected by anything? If a person performs Yagas and Yajnas in dream, will he derive any benefit from it? All fruits are non-existent for one who has realized the world as a mere appearance. Let a hundred Yagas be performed, or let hundreds of men be killed. Neither the good nor the bad effects of such actions will affect a knowing one in the least, as he has no sense of agency with regard to all actions flowing through his instrumentality. The Upanishads say that not a hair of Indra was affected, though he killed Trisiras, the son of Twashta, and offered the bodies of ascetics as food for wolves. The Vedas also say that though king Janaka performed many Yajnas and charities, he did not get further embodiment to enjoy the fruits of these ; for, by virtue of his knowledge he was absorbed in the Bliss of Paramatman for ever. A true knower will thus be free from all sinful effects, like Indra, and from enjoyable fruits like Janaka. For, he is free from any sense of good and evil. So, even if I indulge in the enjoyment of sex-love with this body, no evil will result from it. However, in order that the world may not be misled in respect of virtuous conduct by observing my example of a Sannyasin indulging in the practice of sex-love, my proposal is to gain the experiences of sex-life through the body of another person whose dead body I am going to enliven by temporarily identifying myself with that body.”

Sankara Entering the Body of the Dead King

(101-109) After announcing his resolution through these words of wisdom, Sankara ascended by Yogic power to the top of a steep mountain peak which no man would ordinarily climb, and said to his disciples: “Here is a secure cave, and round about you get a rocky and level plateau. Nearby is a lake of crystalline waters surrounded by trees burdened with luscious fruits. So long as I reside in another suitable body for the study of sex-love through experience, you must carefully preserve in this cave the lifeless body of mine that will be left with you.” So saying, the great one left his gross body lifeless in the cave, and shifted his own subtle body into the gross body of the dead king. Releasing his Prana functioning in the body from foot to head and conveying it out through the Brahmarandra in the head, the Acharya, who was a master of Yoga, came out of his own body and entered into that of the dead king through the Brahmarandhra in the head of that body and permeated the whole of it up to the toe. At once the heart of the dead king began to beat; his eyes opened; and, before long, he sat up. First his face brightened; then he began to breathe in the natural way; next he began to move his limbs; and finally he opened his eyes and stood up when he gained his full strength. Seeing their husband, the king, revive, his wives surrounding the body, greeted him with joyous cries and brightened faces, just as the sun is greeted at dawn by a lake with the faces of innumerable lotus buds in bloom and the joyous cries of water birds residing in it. In surprise, the ministers now found the women of the royal household in great joy, with the king standing in their midst. Great was their excitement on getting back their master. They ordered the sounding of trumpets, conchs and other musical instruments so as to celebrate the joy of the whole community, and the deafening sounds of the instruments reverberated from heaven and earth alike.